John 1:19-2 1: "And this is the record of John,
when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And
he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him,
What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he
answered, No."
Mark 15:34-36: "And at the ninth hour Jesus cried
with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted,
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood by, when they
heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. And one ran and filled a sponge full of
vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see
whether Elias will come to take him down."
[Further Study]
2 Kings 2:1, 11 "And it came to pass, when the
LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha
from Gilgal. . . . And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that,
behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both
asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven."
Elias is the Greek form of the Hebrew Elijah.
Malachi 4:5: "Behold, I will send you Elijah
the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord."
Matthew 11:10-11, 14: "For this is he, of whom
it is written (Malachi 3:1 "Behold, I will send
my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek,
shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye
delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts."
), Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy
way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women
there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: . . . And if ye will receive
it, this is Elias, which was for to come."
[Further Study]
Matthew 17:9-13 "And as they came down from the
mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man
be risen again from the dead. And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the
scribes that Elias must first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias
truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is
come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed.
Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that
he spake unto them of John the Baptist."
This prophecy which the Jews had misapplied was about someone who would come "in the spirit and power of Elias" (Luke 1:17), someone who would preach a message similar to that of Elijah. We will discover as we proceed that the prophecy of Malachi 4:5 has a modern day fulfillment as well.
Malachi 4:5: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the
prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord."
This prophecy is referring also to someone who would be living during the
"time of the end", because the "great and dreadful day of the Lord" is a
reference to and just before the second coming of Christ. Since John the
Baptist lived two thousand years ago he could not be a total fulfillment of
this prophecy. The "time of the end" (Daniel 12:8) has reference to the end
of the 1260 year prophecy of Daniel 7:25 and 12:7 and Revelation 11:2-3
and 12:6, 14 and 13:5. All these references are dealing with the same time
period and when applying the day for a year principle (Numbers 14:34;
Ezekiel 4:6) it began in 538 A.D. And ended in the year 1798. This 1260
year prophecy covers the period known as the Dark Ages, the time of papal
supremacy, representing the time in which the church of Christ was to suffer
oppression from Rome. Everyone living after this date (1798) would be
considered as living in "the time of the end". This interesting time prophecy
is covered in another lesson.
Daniel 12:8 "And I heard,
but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?"
Daniel 7:25 "And he shall
speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High,
and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time
and times and the dividing of time."
Daniel 12:7 "And I heard
the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his
right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it
shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter
the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished."
Revelation 11:2-3 "But the
court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto
the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And
I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred
and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth."
Revelation 12:6, 14 "And
the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they
should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. . . . And to the
woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness,
into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from
the face of the serpent."
Revelation 13:5 "And there
was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given
unto him to continue forty and two months."
Numbers 14:34 "After the
number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year,
shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise."
Ezekiel 4:6 "And when thou
hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity
of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year."
Joel 2:30-31: "And I will show wonders in the
heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be
turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible
day of the Lord come."
Matthew 24:29: "Immediately after the tribulation
of those days (1798) shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken."
[Further Study]
Joel 2:10 "The earth shall quake before them; the
heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall
withdraw their shining:"
Joel 3:15 "The sun and the moon shall be darkened,
and the stars shall withdraw their shining."
Isaiah 13:9-10 "Behold, the day of the LORD
cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he
shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the
constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his
going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine."
Revelation 6:12-13 "And I beheld when he had
opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became
black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven
fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is
shaken of a mighty wind."
These verses in Joel and Matthew refer to signs in the heavens that would
take place just before the second coming of Christ.
Matthew 24:30-31 "And then shall appear the sign
of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and
they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great
glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall
gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
Joel describes the second advent as "the great and the terrible day of the
Lord". In Malachi 4:5 it refers to the second coming of Christ as "the great
and dreadful day of the Lord". The words terrible and dreadful in the
original Hebrew are exactly the same word and describe the same event.
Have these signs in the heavens already taken place? Yes. (See
supplemental material at the end of this lesson.) Since the
last of these signs took place in 1833, according to God's word "Elijah the prophet", or
someone with a message similar to that of Elijah, would appear on the scene
closely following these events.
1 Kings 18:18, 21, 37: "And he answered, I have
not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the
commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim. . . . And Elijah came unto
all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God,
follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. .
. . Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God,
and that thou hast turned their heart back again."
Matthew 3:1-3:
The Elijah message is a message of repentance, calling God's people to turn
from apostasy and begin following the commandments and counsel of the
Lord in every particular.
Malachi 4:6: "And he shall turn the heart of
the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest
I come and smite the earth with a curse"
This is more than a prophecy of families getting back together, more than
the healing of father and son relationships.
Matthew 10:35-38 "For I am come to set a man
at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter
in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth
son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross,
and followeth after me, is not worthy of me."
This is a message to return to the faith of our fathers. Just as the literal sons of
Israel were being called to return to the teaching of the patriarchs, so we are being
called back to the teachings of the Bible and to obedience to all of the
commandments of God. Today God's faithful people will be calling for
repentance because the judgment has already begun.
Revelation 14:7 "Saying with a loud voice,
Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship
him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."
It's time to get with God's program (Revelation 14:12), and come out of Babylon
(Revelation 14:8; Revelation 18:1-4), out of confusion and to separate from
error. They will worship the Creator who "made heaven, and earth, and the
sea, and the fountains of waters", and warn the world about the fate of the
wicked (Revelation 14:9-11).
Revelation 14:12 "Here is the patience of the
saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."
Revelation 14:8 "And there followed another
angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all
nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication."
Revelation 18:1-4 "And after these things I saw
another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened
with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great
is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every
foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have
drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have
committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich
through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven,
saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that
ye receive not of her plagues."
Revelation 14:9-11 "And the third angel followed
them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and
receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine
of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his
indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of
the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment
ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the
beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name."
Revelation 12:17: "And the dragon (Satan,
Revelation 12:9) was wroth with the woman (church, Jeremiah 6:2; Isaiah 51:16),
and went to make war with the remnant (remaining ones) of her seed, which keep
the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."
Satan
Revelation 12:9 "And the great dragon was
cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the
whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with
him."
church
Jeremiah 6:2 "I have likened the daughter
of Zion to a comely and delicate woman."
Isaiah 51:16 "And I have put my words in
thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant
the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art
my people."
According to this verse God's last day church (the remnant) would advocate
keeping all ten commandments and have the gift of prophecy manifested within
their midst.
Revelation 19:10 "And I fell at his feet to
worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and
of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony
of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
The messenger of the Lord is Ellen G. White who received her first vision the very
year the first angel's message was being proclaimed in 1844.
Numbers 12:6 "And he said, Hear now my words:
If there be a prophet among you, the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision,
and will speak unto him in a dream."
Mrs. White fell asleep in 1915 after 86 years of fruitful ministry. By the inspiration
of God the material she has written fills more than 80 books, 200 tracts and pamphlets,
and 4,600 periodical articles. Sermons, diaries, special testimonies, and letters
comprise another 60,000 pages of manuscript materials. Ellen White's
function as God's messenger was not to write another Bible, or to be a part
of the Biblical cannon. Her writings are to lead us back to the Bible and to
simplify the truths already given, so we can better understand salvation. As
you have studied each lesson you have read a sampling of quotes that have
come from her pen. We trust these statements have been a blessing to you,
and have drawn you closer to Jesus. May God bless you as you continue to
study His word. The apostle Paul said, "Despise not prophesyings. Prove
all things; hold fast that which is good." (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21).
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